


To Catch a Star

by Phantastic_Whovian



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Exactly What It Says on the Tin, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, because I love lance, honestly lance is a strong bean, i love him so much, inspired by a friend, its actually not that dark, its mostly lance centric, sorta Langst?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-25 09:03:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantastic_Whovian/pseuds/Phantastic_Whovian
Summary: "You're going to tell us exactly how to get Lance back.""Ah. So the red paladin fell into the trap, then." Lotor says, his face looking amused. "I had wondered whether to warn you about that."





	1. An obvious trap

**Author's Note:**

> Me: has three WIP's  
> Me to me: let's start another fic

"Keith!" Lance pleads. "Keith, don't do this!"

"Lotor can't be trusted." Keith tells him, determinedly jamming his helmet on his head.

"This is a bad idea." Lance warns him. "This is an insanely bad idea. We don't even know where that ship is going!"

"That's why we're following it."

"What if it's a trap?" Lance asks desperately. "Of course we can't trust Lotor, but we can't just go on a witch hunt for his generals."

"Lance, are you coming or not?" Keith asks, hand on his hip.

"Of course I'm coming. Someone needs to keep you from dying." Lance replies.

"Good. I'll take my pod, whoever else wants to come can follow in their lions."

"No." Shiro speaks up. "Take the black lion, Keith, you might need it." Lance eyes Shiro suspiciously.

"You aren't coming?"

"We can't afford to send everyone out of the castle. I'll stay here with Coran, and help you guys from here." Keith grimaces.

"Shiro-"

"Keith, I respected your choice to train with the blade of marmora. Please take the black lion." Shiro softens his voice.

"Fine. But just this once."

"Of course." Shiro replies smoothly.

"Glad that's finally settled." Pidge mutters. "Can we get going?"

"We?" Keith asks.

"Well yeah, I'm obviously coming."

"Uh, yeah, me too." Hunk pipes up. "This seems kinda suspicious to me too."

"I'm coming too." Allura says, her tone leaving no room for argument."We may need Voltron. It's best to be prepared."

"Fine." Keith grumbles. "Let's go then, everyone to their lions."

 

"Hey, guys?" Lance asks, pressing a button. Only the paladins can hear him now-Shiro and Coran are out of contact for the moment. "You guys feel like Shiro's acting...kinda weirdly?"

"I have." Allura says sadly. "I was rather hoping he would have returned to his normal self by now."

"Yeah, I noticed it too." Hunk agrees.

"Well, I mean, he was kidnapped by the galra." Pidge rationalizes. "That would change anyone."

"I guess." Lance replies, unable to shake his feeling that something is wrong.

"Guys, focus. We're coming up on the ship." Keith says. The others fall into silence as the ship comes up before them.

"That's...uh...bigger than I was expecting." Hunk admits.

"The coordinates match up. I guess they really did desert Lotor." Pidge says.

"Well, either that, or-" Lance's train of thought is interrupted by an explosion on the side of the ship.

"That looks like trouble." Keith says.

"I'm guessing we're going to fly straight towards it?" Hunk asks, to nobody in particular. "Great. I love it when we do that."

"Oh, yeah, just fly towards the big explosion on a hostile enemy ship, no biggie." Lance mocks.  
They fly towards the explosion in formation, silently. The hole where the explosion ripped through leads into a sealed off corridor, rather like an airlock.

"Well that's convenient." Lance says, growing more and more suspicious by the second.

"On your guard, everyone." Keith says. "It may be a trap."

"I wonder what caused the explosion." Pidge thinks out loud.

"Maybe someone had too many space tacos." Hunk theorizes.

Lance is the first out of his lion. He hears their voices still in his helmet as he heads towards the hole.

"Lance?" Keith asks suddenly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm checking it out. You guys coming?" Not waiting for an answer, he steps into the ship.  
The instant his foot touches down, he realizes that he's made a terrible mistake. A screen of what looks to be impenetrable glass slams down, separating him from the outside world.

"LANCE!" He hears Keith shout. And then his intercom shorts out. An alarm starts blaring as the rest of the team starts hammering on the glass.

"Go! Get out!" He yells, despite knowing they can't hear him. If they get captured, if Voltron can't form, it's the end of the universe. Voltron is the only hope for the universe, they cannot be captured. If that means they leave Lance...well, that's a price he's willing to pay.  
He can see Hunk and Pidge realize this, sees the horror in their eyes. "Go!" Lance shouts again, making a motion with his arms. Hunk makes eye contact with him.

"We're coming back." Allura says, her accent noticeable even through lip reading.

"We promise." Hunk agrees.

Keith is still pounding on the glass desperately.

"Lance!" He shouts. Lance reaches out to place his hand on the glass.

"Go." Lance says again, hearing footsteps behind him.

"Not without you!" Keith says, still searching for a way to break in. Lance looks helplessly at Hunk, who grabs Keith.

"No-No-" He tries to struggle as Hunk drags him away. Together, the four of them race back to the lions, as hands enclose Lance's wrists.

"Hmm. A paladin of voltron." One of the voices says. He doesn't dare look at them.

"What do we do with it?" A second voice asks, sounding bored.

"Let's just bring him to Haggar." The first voice replies, dismissively. Lance feels a sharp sting on his neck, and the world fades as he falls to his knees.

He wakes up on a cold, hard floor. This would be bad enough-his neck is already starting to ache-but it's wet and gritty. He can feel several pairs of eyes on him as he sits up, stretching his sore body.

"Hello." He says, to the people-aliens-scattered around the room. "I'm-I'm Lance, I'm a paladin of Voltron. I fly the red lion. Have you guys heard of Voltron?"

"Everyone has heard of Voltron." One of them speaks, his voice deep. "He is our only hope of defeating the galra empire."

"Yeah. Well, don't worry. The other paladins are gonna come get us, they're going to rescue us all." He tries to keep his voice calm and measured. Panicking won't do him any good, and it definitely won't do any of the others any good.

"Really? Voltron is coming to save us?" Someone pipes up. Their voice is young, incredibly so, and Lance feels a sudden rush of sadness.

"Yes. I'm sure they'll come for us soon." He says. "I know it."

Keith barges into the castle, straight to where they've got Lotor handcuffed.

"Don't-" Pidge starts, but it's too late. Keith slaps Lotor squarely across the face.

"You're going to listen to me." He says, in a menacing voice that Pidge has never heard from him. Did he pick that up during his blade of marmora training? Was it a bluff, an empty threat? Or was it something more instinctual, something more dangerous? "You're going to tell us exactly how to get Lance back."

"Ah. So the red paladin fell into the trap, then." Lotor says, his face looking amused. "I had wondered whether to warn you about that."

"This isn't fucking funny." Keith spits, surprising everyone.

"Well, I hadn't thought anyone would be so stupid as to fall into such an obvious trap, can you blame me?" This time, everyone is expecting it when Lotor is slapped again, and several of them are anticipating it.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins, Haggar thinks delightedly. Another pawn she can twist against itself, another weapon she can use against voltron.
> 
> She raises her fingers, summoning dark magic. It dances between her fingertips, the dark tendrils swirling through the air. She wills them, and they do her bidding. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so first off thanks for all the positive feedback you guys! it honestly made me so happy.   
> This might be the only chapter I get out for a while, as NaNoWriMo is coming up soon. So apologies in advance if there aren't any updates for a while. Thanks for understanding, guys!

"Okay. We need to assume the worst." Shiro says, crossing his arms. "Lance is captured, possibly dead."

"No." Keith says. "No, he's alive. He has to be."

"Keith, we need to face the possibility-"

"No, I'm with Keith." Hunk says, stepping forward. "Lance is alive."

"And we're going to get him back." Pidge adds.

"We must. Lance is a member of this team, and just as vital as any of us." Allura agrees.

"Of course he is." Shiro says placatingly. "But we don't know where he's being held, or what they've done to him."

"Then we'll make Lotor tell us." Keith says, his eyes narrowing. "Willingly or otherwise."

  
_It begins, Haggar thinks delightedly. Another pawn she can twist against itself, another weapon she can use against voltron._

_She raises her fingers, summoning dark magic. It dances between her fingertips, the dark tendrils swirling through the air. She wills them, and they do her bidding. Always._

  
"And then she was like 'Lance stop taking my stuff!' and I was like "I have no idea what you're talking about, I've owned this forever.' Oh, it was priceless." Lance grins.

"And this is the...green paladin?" One of the aliens (Alaxi) asks hesitantly. She's kind of pretty for an alien, with short hair and bright green eyes. Her skin is a light shade of blue, and mysterious vine tatoos cover her skin. She is haggard now, though, her hair unwashed, her skin hanging too loosely, her eyes weary.

"Yeah, Pidge. There are five of us in all. There's Hunk, the yellow paladin, and he's my best friend. He's hilarious, and he makes amazing food. There's Pidge, the green paladin, she can be a bit uptight sometimes, but she's a genius, and she's also one of my best friends. There's Allura, she's our blue paladin. She's got a british accent, which only makes her cooler. Speaking of accents, there's Coran, who pilots the castle. He's got a craazyy accent, it's actually pretty funny. But he's kinda like a dad or an uncle to all of us. Especially Allura. Then there's Shiro, who, uh...I guess he pilots the black lion now. He's our leader. He's brave and stuff. He seems...different, though, lately."

"And what about the Keith fellow you keep mentioning?" Bichol asks. He's a larger guy, with bright red eyes and greyish skin. He's got spikes covering his entire head, too.

"Oh. Yeah, he used to be the red paladin...and then he was the black paladin, and our leader...but he left to go train with the Blade of Marmora. So. Y'know. He's just...off being badass, and stuff."

"The green paladin, Pidge...She reminds me of my own daughter." Alaxi says thoughtfully. Gluck, a small alien with a blue rune-like symbol on his head, nods in agreement.

"She reminds me of my niece." He says softly. The tall woman in the corner, Dolkar, snorts.

"None of my family is smart enough for that. Half wits, all of them."

"Dolkar." Alaxi chides. "That's not nice."

"It's the truth." Dolkar replies, not sounding the least bit sorry. Alaxi shakes her head. A sudden thought strikes Lance.

"Hey, how come we can all understand each other?" He asks. Everyone stares at him in confusion.

"It's...it's commonspeak." Gluck tells him. "Everyone is taught that, from birth."

"But then how do I know it?" Lance asks.

"Perhaps the big metal lions have something to do with it? Maybe they let you translate it." Alaxi ponders.

"Oh! Like the TARDIS in Doctor Who!"

"The...what?" Dolkar asks.

"What's a TARDIS?" Bichol asks, confused.

"It's probably an Earth thing." Gluck tells them

"Yeah, it's a thing on a television show." Lance tells them excitedly. "Oh man, I loved that show!"

"What is he talking about?" Alaxi whispers to Dolkar. She shrugs.

"I don't know what a television show is." Bichol admits. "But it does not sound like I would like it very much."

"It sounds strange." Gluck agrees.

"I think I might have heard of it before..." Alaxi says, a far off look in her eyes. "When I was a kid. Before the Galra came."

"You mean, before an opressive regime tried to take over the entire galaxy and ruin everyone's lives? Before we all lived in fear every day? Before a group of intergalactic IDIOTS decided that they were better than everyone else?" She's shouting now. "I HOPE YOU HEARD THAT, YOU STUPID _MALKI HASA_!"

"Be quiet, Dolkar!" A voice sounds from down the corridor.

"Oh, not this again." Someone else mutters.

"I'm trying to sleep here!" A third voice joins in.

"Uh...what's a... _malki hasa_?" Lance asks.

"It's an insult in Dolkar's language." Alaxi replies. "I think it translates roughly to 'boy who's mother was unkind'"

"Oh." Lance says. "Okay?" The five of them lapse into silence, each contemplating. "You know," Lance begins, "That actually reminds me of a funny story..."

  
"Of course I want to help you, there is no question of that." Lotors voice is silky as ever, but there's an added edge of bitterness. "I've told you that. I am the one who suggested this...alliance, of sorts. However, I will not stand for being treated like this." He raises his arms to show the handcuffs.

"Why exactly should we start trusting you now?" Keith asks. "It's your fault that Lance was captured."

"No, it's Lance's fault." Lotor corrects him. "He's the one who walked into the trap."

"He was...he was checking out the ship with us. Because I-we don't trust you."

"Hmm. Well then, isn't this whole debacle really your fault?" Lotor asks innocently.

"No." Keith says, his voice low. "This is not my fault, it's not." Pidge sees the tears welling up in his eyes a second before he notices himself. "I'm going to the training deck." He mutters.

  
Coran watches silently as Keith lashes out against the robot, as he hurts and kills with unrestrained anger. It reminds him of Alfor, of the way he would come down late at night on frustrating days, and take out his anger on something that could feel no pain. It reminds him of Lance, the way Lance would fake a smile and then come in here and fight the robot until he began to sob and the simulation shut itself off.

"Uh...is Keith okay?" Pidge asks, coming up behind Coran. Startled, he jumps.

"Not to worry, number five! I'm sure all is well!" He lies. "I'm sure Keith is as fit as a fiddle!" Despite the fact that they both see the tears streaming down Keith's face, neither mentions it.


End file.
